Gill transfers to UVa men's basketball program from South Carolina

Anthony Gill is returning to the site of one of his greatest days as a basketball player.

Two years ago, Gill had a chance in Charlottesville in the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 camp for high school players to face a guy that eventually would carve out his own place in college basketball history.

That matchup was against Anthony Davis, a 6-foot-10 forward who led Kentucky to the national championship this month as a freshman and who could be the top pick in the NBA draft in June after being named the national college player of the year.

"AG had better numbers," Lewis said. "He out-scored and out-rebounded Anthony Davis in their one-on-one matchup, but you never heard too much about it. I still have the stats from that game when they played. I'm not saying he's better than Anthony Davis, but in that game, (Gill) out-played him."

Now, Virginia is about to find out what Gill can do for it. He's coming back to Charlottesville.

After playing his freshman season at South Carolina, he's transferring to U.Va., according to Lewis, who remains close friends with Gill and Gill's family. Gill, a 6-foot-8, 245-pound forward, will have three years of eligibility left after sitting out next season, per NCAA transfer rules.

Gill started 25 of South Carolina's 31 games and averaged 7.6 points on 64.6 percent shooting from the floor. He also contributed 4.7 rebounds while averaging 25 minutes played per game.

Gill looked at North Carolina and Ohio State before opting to transfer to U.Va. Coming out of Charlotte Christian School, where he was considered one of the nation's top 30 power forwards according to most recruiting analysts, he turned down scholarship offers from U.Va. and Wake Forest.

South Carolina went 10-21 this past season. Coach Darrin Horn, who spent four seasons at South Carolina, was fired in March.

"I just don't think (Gill) was really happy at South Carolina, to be honest," Lewis said. "With his goals, I think he wanted to go into a program that had an opportunity to win and build character and build those skills on the court."